Our Business

Overview

As a global high tech material specialist, SKC meets the needs of its customers while exploring new challenges and pursuing excellence. SKC continues to move toward becoming an environmentally friendly company characterized by innovation.

SKC has continued to expand its business areas and size while growing the film and chemistry industries that remain as its core businesses. In the film area, SKC has produced the world’s best films for displays, optical, solar cells, and environmentally friendly products following its pioneering development of polyester film in Korea. In the chemistry business area, SKC was the first company to open a large scale PO/SM plant in Korea, and the first in the world to use the environmentally friendly HPPO method. These endeavors have resulted in the company growing to become the leader in the Asian polyurethane industry. At the same time SKC has fulfilled its middle and long-term growth strategies by adopting environmentally friendly inorganic materials such as secondary cells, next generation power semiconductors, LED materials and solar cell materials. These new areas act as an axis of growth and have constituted a continued focus on SKC’s efforts to meet new challenges head on while always innovating.

Chemistry

SKC’s chemistry business began to supply propylene oxide (PO), the main material used in the polyurethane (PU) industry, to the Korean market in 1990 using the PO/SM process. The company continued to expand its product line to include high value added products such as polyol (PPG), propylene glycol (PG), and propylene glycol ether (PGE) in a quest to achieve vertical integration. In 2007, SKC became the first in the world to commercialize the HPPO process which is an environmentally-friendly PO manufacturing process. By 2016 the company intends to have secured a production capacity of 60,000 tons of PO through aggressive investment in equipment. Furthermore, SKC plans to become the new super supplier in the Asian and world polyurethane market.

Film

With the successful development in 1977 of PET film based on proprietary technology, SKC pioneered a new dawn in the plastic films industry. Following the establishment of large-scale plants in Suwon, South Korea and Georgia, USA, SKC will invest in the Shenzhen Plant in China. The Shenzhen Plant will be furnished with a PET film production system capable of producing an estimated 300,000 tons by 2015. This expansion move will help raise the company’s standing as the global industry leader. SKC has also emerged as a global optical film company that produces functional films for LCD applications thanks to the development of reflective and optical films for TFT-LCD backlight units. SKC was also the first in the world to mass produce environmentally friendly bio-compostable film, thus playing a leading role in realizing environmental friendliness in the film industry.

Photovoltaic Materials

Photovoltaic materials have been a new growth area for SKC. Based on the innovative technology developed in the PET film business, SKC is the only company producing all the core materials of PV modules such as EVA sheet, Fluorine film (PVdF), and PET film for backsheet. In addition, SKC Solmics, acquired in 2008, produces ingot and wafers for solar cells. Those products make SKC a unique total solution provider for the global photovoltaic industry. SKC has accomplished its competitive edge through active investment and innovative R&D to take the market leadership. The company will continuously contribute its best effort for the environment friendly and renewable photovoltaic industry.

Processing Industry

Based on having the world’s best technology and more than 30 years of experience and expertise, SKC is equipped to provide the highest quality films at competitive values. SKC has created a synergy through identifying new areas of applications and consistently working to improve quality. SKC has developed various highly functional film processing capabilities that result in products such as window film for automobiles and construction, hard coated film, conductive film for display materials and anti-fingerprint films. The company has expanded the areas it works in and has taken the lead in developing new products that meet the needs of its customers.

Inorganic Materials

SKC has expanded its involvement in inorganic materials and intends to use this core technology in the environmentally friendly product areas and renewable energy sectors as a new engine for growth. Based on silicon material technology, SKC has expanded its business areas to include solar cells plus LED ingot wafers and is also advancing into producing semiconductors. In addition, SKC is targeting the energy storage market (where rapid growth is expected). This market includes environmentally friendly cars, and SKC has been continuing to improve electric battery material technology.